TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, agreed on Monday to strengthen their security, defense and economic ties and pledged to cooperate in responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other threats in Europe and Asia.
They said they agreed to upgrade their nations’ relations to a “strategic partnership,” with defense ties covering military equipment and technology.
The leaders said in a joint statement following their talks in Tokyo that they recognized the importance of strengthening NATO engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and of further promoting NATO cooperation with Japan.
The recognition came as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Tokyo on Monday after a visit in South Korea, where he called for Seoul to provide direct military support to Ukraine….